>> pelley: tonight, death of a newspaper. as a phone hacking scandal explodes, one of the world's most widely red english language papers self-destructs. the president says the two sides are far apart as the country heads toward d-day for default. we have chip reid at the white house and nancy cordes on capitol hill. two old to hire, too young to retire. anthony mason on the job prospects of older workers. and as we count down to the last shuttle launch, the people who put america in space are coming in for a hard landing. >> it's kind of getting punched in the stomach and then getting kicked after you're laying on the ground. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

>> pelley: good evening, the newspaper called "the news of the world" wasn't shy about bragging. its owners, the murdoch family, called it the most widely read english language paper on earth. like a lot of things in the "news of the world" that may or may not be true. but we do know tonight that after 168 years, the "world" is ending. a london tabloid collapsing under the weight of a scandal. elizabeth palmer has late-breaking developments. >> reporter: the tabloid that traded on squall darr for more than a century was finally brought down by its own scandalous practices. the paper controlled by media titan rupert more dock who also phones fox and the "wall street journal" was shut down on sunday. do you walk this fast all the time? >> i do when i'm running away from you guys. >> reporter: it was bad enough when it turned out "the news of the world" journalists had been hacking into private voice mails but worse when it emerged who their victims were.

>> we are no longer talking here about politicians and celebrities, we're talking about murder victims, potentially terrorist victims, having their phones hacked into. it is absolutely disgusting what has taken place. >> reporter: it all started in 2005 when details of prince william's private life turned up in the paper. a police investigation found the royal phone had been hacked and an editor went to jail. but it just unraveld from there. celebrities like jude law and hugh grant discovered they'd been hit, too. >> you know, i think there's a national sense of revulsion here. >> reporter: revulsion that grew when a new investigation found a private investigator working for the paper had helped reporters hack into the messages of a missing teenager who was later found murdered. the police inquiry also uncovered a list of roughly 4,000 names in the private investigators' notes. and today the last straw. the families of british soldiers

killed in afghanistan and iraq discovered they were on the list, too. >> if these actions are proved to have been verified, i'm appalled. i'm... i find it quite disgusting. >> reporter: all over the country military families are now wondering if the "news of the world" has been snooping on them, too. tony phillipson whose 29-year-old son james died in afghanistan in 2006 is convinced that reporters hacked into his dead son's e-mail account. that was taken in afghanistan? he's now demanding the answer to the question everyone in britain is asking. >> what on earth did they expect to find? it's unbelievable. i can't rationalize it. it doesn't make any sense. >> reporter: all the anguish and the outrage is pushing authorities to act. we've just heard the andy coleson, who's the former editor of "the news of the world" and also, until recently,

communications advisor to britain's prime minister, has been told by the police that he's going to be arrested tomorrow. scott? >> pelley: thanks, liz. with the d-day for default less than four weeks away, president obama had congressional leaders to the white house today to try to get the negotiations moving again. we have reports tonight from nancy cordes at the capital and chip reid at the white house. >> reporter: scott, the president called today's meeting with congressional leaders "constructive," but he also said the two sides are far apart on a wide range of issues. >> i thought that all the leaders here came in a spirit of compromise. >> reporter: it was a dramatic change in tone compared to just last week when the president gave congress a stern lecture. >> you stay here. let's get it done. >> reporter: white house officials, though, say there was no major break through in today's meeting and the president said the hard bargaining is still ahead. >> everybody acknowledged that there's going to be pain involved politically on all

sides. >> reporter: the white house concedes the pain will have to include steep cuts in entitlement programs popular with democrats. sources say even social security is now on the table, prompting house democratic leader nancy pelosi to fire a warning shot. >> do not consider social security a piggy bank for giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country. >> reporter: but budget expert david walker says social security is the easy part. >> in basketball terms, it's like a layup. on the other hand, medicare, medicaid and our broadest health care challenges are more like a three-point play from underneath the opponent's basket. >> reporter: now the people around this table-- eight congressional leaders, the president, vice president, and a handful of white house officials led by chief of staff william daley-- have to reach a deal or risk sending the economy plunging back into a second deep recession. the key relationship is between the president and house republican speaker john boehner. sources say the two men have had a series of private discussions

on the debt deal that began nearly three weeks ago during a round of golf. scott, the next step is that over the next two days, white house and congressional staff members will put together specific proposals to cut up to $4 trillion over the next decade. then on sunday, the president and congressional leaders will meet again here at the white house and that's when the hard bargaining will really begin. >> pelley: chip, stand by there at the white house as we stitch over to the capitol now and congressional correspondent nancy cordes. >> reporter: scott, for the first time today we started to hear lawmakers express some confidence that a debt deal could be reached and an economic crisis averted. after returning from the white house, speaker boehner put the chances of a deal at 50-50. rank-and-file republicans like florida senator marco rubio were sounding more positive, too. >> i think there's growing consensus here on some of the outlines of what it will take to solve this issue. >> reporter: but the price of a so-called grand bargain will

be too high for some. publicly, many republicans continue to balling at any mention of tax hikes. >> raising taxes are not going to get any votes on our side at this point. >> reporter: but privately, some republicans now say they might be able to support closing some tax loopholes. the white house wants to eliminate loop loopholes for oil and gas companies, limit deductions for high-income americans and eliminate what's called the carried-interest provision which allows some investment managers to pay a 15% rate on their hefty earnings instead of the traditional 35%. the challenge for negotiators is to find consensus on all these contentious matters immediately. the treasury secretary's deadline of august 2 gives both sides just three weeks to strike a deal, draft legislation, sell it to members, and vote. that's why the white house scheduled the next big meeting with congressional leaders for sunday just three days from now,

scott. >> pelley: nancy, even if a deal is reached, it would take a couple of weeks to get a bill through the legislative process. are they already getting close to missing this deadline? >> reporter: oh, they absolutely are, scott. and that's why i think the understanding here on capitol hill is if they can't come up with a deal in the next week or so, they're going to have to start craft ago short-term measure to avert a debt crisis for a couple of days or weeks as they continue to negotiate. it's a tactic that they used a few months ago when they were trying to avoid a government shutdown. >> pelley: and, chip, at the white house, is the white house insisting on cuts ins is? >> reporter: no, they are not, scott? the white house says social security is on the table for discussion simply because everything has to be on the table for discussion but they are not pushing hard for cuts in social security as part of this deal. >> pelley: thank you both very much. you know, the united states has never defaulted on its debts, but we were wondering today whether it's ever come close and it turns out that it has. it was during the war of 1812

after the british burned the capitol building and the white house. america was struggling to pay for the war but came through in the end. for 30 years, the space shuttle has carried astronauts into space and home again. now just one mission remains. tonight "atlantis" is on the launch pad and bob orr is at the kennedy space center. bob, what are the prospects for launch tomorrow? >> reporter: "atlantis" is ready to go, as you say, but things are not very good. for the past couple of days, frankly, the weather has been horrible. we had thunderstorms go across the kennedy space center earlier today and just afternoon we noticed a couple large lightning strikes in the area. we found out later one of them apparently hit the top of the launch support structure and that caused nasa engineers to go and look and see if there were any problems. we don't think there are any but they're still checking systems. the bigger problem here, though, is really tomorrow where we expect more rain, maybe winds, maybe lightning. nasa looking at the forecast says there's only a 30% chance the shuttle will get off and

even some people say that might be optimistic, scott. >> pelley: bob, what's the mission all about? >> reporter: it's all about the last big haul of material up to the international space station. the shut kl carry a huge pay lode so the four astronauts will take some 10,000 pounds of supplies, you have no get the space station through 2012 because when "atlantis" comes home, the shuttle program is over and then for a while we use soyuz and they have very small payloads so this is a big deal and the last chance, really, to restock that space station, scott. >> pelley: bob, thank you. cbs news will bring you live coverage of the final space shuttle launch tomorrow morning. when the shuttle flies its last mission, thousands of jobs will go with it. acquitted of murder charges, casey anthony will soon be out of jail. and grand theft picasso. caught on tape when the cbs news continues.

sometimes, i worry my pipes might leak. but i learned there's something more i can do. now, i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision, so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. so why wait ? ask your doctor today... ... about taking care with vesicare.

can be even more powerful, with precise pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast for relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol.

really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too, and has 5 grams of sugars. i'll believe it when i--- [ both ] oooooh... what's shakin'? [ female announcer ] as you get older, protein is an important part of staying active and strong. new ensure high protein... fifty percent of your daily value of protein. low fat and five grams of sugars. see? he's a good egg. [ major nutrition ] new ensure high protein. ensure! nutrition in charge! >> pelley: the news tonight about jobs isn't great. the best you can say is it's not quite as bad as it has been. the government says 418,000 more americans joined the line for unemployment benefits last week. but that is 14,000 fewer than the week before. for those fortunate enough to find a new job, anthony mason tells us there's another challenge these days-- holding on to that job. >> reporter: david reed has

more than 30 years experience as a salesman in the food industry. but now, working in a neighbor's backyard, he's literally shoveling mulch for gas money. >> $1,200. >> reporter: at home in manassas, virginia, the bills are piling up for david and his wife susan. >> this one here is already in collections. >> so we don't have anything more we can write a check today. >> no. >> reporter: dave, who made as much as $80,000 as a salesman to high-end restaurants lost his job last october. he's been laid off three times in the past three years. three years; three jobs. >> yes. >> reporter: what is that saying to you? >> over the years i've done very well in this industry and then all of a sudden it's let go, let go, let go. and for me it's... it's depressing. >> reporter: but research shows workers who've been laid off once, if rehired, are more likely to be laid off again. 21%-- that's one in five-- face

unemployment again within a year. you reached the point you were willing to apply to a fast food company for an assistant manager's job? >> $9 an hour. >> reporter: but you didn't get it? >> nope. >> reporter: when you made the choice to go to a fast food restaurant to apply, what were you saying to yourself? >> "has it come to this?" and that's with no disrespect to the people that work there. >> reporter: and for older workers like reed who's 62 this month, it typically takes longer to be rehired. his likelihood of finding another job within a year is just 18%-- half that of a younger worker. with their four children now grown, susan has gone back to work at a local wine and gift shop. you weren't expecting to become the primary breadwinner. >> no. no. not on the income that i make. >> reporter: but her $30,000 salary is all that's allowing them to hold on to their home in a neighborhood where others haven't been so lucky. >> we don't want that in front of our house. >> reporter: friends have also helped-- sometimes anonymously. so you just opened a mailbox and

there was a check inside? >> actually there was cash inside. >> reporter: how did that feel? >> well, i was very emotional because i didn't know who did it. i don't know who to thank. >> reporter: while we were there, an e-mail arrived. >> "david, i may have an idea that could work for you." >> reporter: he's now interviewing with a company. that's encouraging. >> very encouraging. >> reporter: hope for david reed at a time when hope can be hard to come by. anthony mason, cbs news, manassas, virginia. >> reporter: the environmental protection agency announced a new crackdown on pollution today, targeting smokestacks that carry soot and smog all over the country. coal-burning power plants in 27 states will have to install new scrubbers to cut emissions. the e.p.a. says the cleaner air could prevent as many as 34,000 deaths and 15,000 nonfatal heart attacks every year. there is late-breaking news tonight from grand rapids, michigan, where at least seven

people have been shot and killed. the police are looking for a suspect, identified as roderick danceler. the so shootings happened in two homes. dansler reporte had maurice lationships with the women in those two homes. sentencing day for casey anthony. when she will go free is coming up next. with a variety of flavors, multigrain pops with pringles. challenge that with olay regenerist night elixir. its gentle glycolic formula resurfaces at night for the smooth skin of a light chemical peel. sleep tight. regenerist, from olay. imagine a day free of worry, a day when we can eat what we want, drink what we want, and sleep soundly through the night.

finally that day has arrived with prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn-free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn all day, all night. now we are free. happy. with prevacid®24hr, happiness is a day without heartburn. with prevacid®24hr, i have copd. if you have it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms... by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and call your doctor right away if your breathing suddenly worsens,

your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. breathing with copd is no small thing. ask your doctor about spiriva. physical therapists suggest cold therapy for pain relief, so, you know... ♪ just use new bengay cold therapy. it relieves pain with a blast of cold. you are so smart. [ male announcer ] new bengay cold therapy. the same technology used by physical therapists. [ male so i take ] one a day men's 50+ advantage. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus it supports heart health. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. >> pelley: in florida, two days after she was acquitted of

charges she murdered her two-year-old daughter, casey anthony was back in court. if she was expecting the judge to set her free today, he didn't. but kelly cobiella tells us it won't be long. >> reporter: casey anthony literally let her hair down today. people here were quick to photoshe had worn it modestly, pulled back throughout the six-week murder trial. >> she was dressed not like she normally was. she thought she was going to be released today. >> i will sentence you... >> reporter: instead, the judge gave anthony the maximum jail sentence of four years for lying to investigators during the six-month search for her missing daughter caylee. but in the latest twist in a case full of surprises, anthony was given credit for good behavior and time served. she will be in jail for just six more days. outside the courthouse, the divided crowd both cheered... >> i'm kind of happy she's going to get out. >> reporter: ...and syria it had decision. >> a murderer walks free! >> reporter: anthony's harshest critics say she got

exactly what she wanted-- freedom from the responsibilities of motherhood and fame. >> she's going to make millions off of the murder of her daughter. >> blood money! >> that's blood money. >> reporter: prosecutors want anthony to pay for her lies and reimburse orange county more than $100,000 in investigation expenses. criminal attorney mark o'mara says court costs could drive that number into the hundreds of thousands. >> the state is going to want their pound of flesh monetarily because they didn't get their conviction. >> reporter: scott, when casey anthony walks free next wednesday, it will be nearly three years to the day since she first reported her daughter missing. >> pelley: thanks, kelly. the search for a stolen picasso has come to an end. on tuesday, a thief ripped a picasso sketch off a wall at a san francisco art gallery. surveillance video shows him walking with it under his arm as he calmly strolls down a sidewalk. last night, police arrested a new jersey man and recovered the art work valued at $275,000.

did you know that before the astronauts can ride into space they must first take a ride in his antigravity machine? we'll have his story next. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch can be even more powerful, with precise pain relieving cream. it blocks pain signals fast for relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. precise. meet beth, nursery school teacher. lights, camera, activia it's the best job in the world.

my students are amazing. but to be there for them, you've gotta feel your best. kids can tell. that's why i love eating activia every day. so delicious activia helps me feel good inside. which helps me be my best... positive, cheerful and on top of things. help regulate your digestive system. love how you feel or your money back. ♪ activia oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you need home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? it just came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. comes centrum. with vitamins and minerals balanced to support your energy...

♪ ...immune function... ♪ ...healthy skin... and help protect your cells from environmental stress. everyday benefits from advanced formulas. the complete benefits of centrum. and if you're over 50, discover the age-adjusted benefits of centrum silver. and form a layer called biofilm so strong it survives brushing. thankfully, there's listerine® antiseptic. its triple-action formula penetrates biofilm, kills germs and protects your mouth for hours. fight biofilm with listerine®.

>> pelley: at its peak, 32,000 americans worked for the space shuttle program. but tonight only 6,300 remain and most of them will lose their jobs at the end of the "atlantis" mission. recently, we visited the kennedy space center to talk to some of the unsung heroes of the program-- such as the guys in the elevator shop who have a lot of pride in their very own claim to fame. >> we deliver the astronauts first 19195 feet into... 195 feet into space. >> reporter: 195 feet, that's you? >> that's right. >> reporter: it's brian jones who gets the astronauts off the ground. he operate what is may be the world's most famous elevator, delivering the crew to the shuttle hatch 20 stories up. what happens after the last shuttle goes? >> we've all received layoff notices for july 22 and so we're

all currently looking for jobs. >> pelley: jeff cunningham, charles flake and jose chang also work in the elevator shop for united space alliance, the private company that manages the shuttle program for nasa. >> it has been fun. the sad part is not lose mig job but the saddest part is leaving the space program. >> pelley: tell me why this wasn't just an elevator repair man job for you. >> it's an awesome experience working that close to something that takes seven people into space and a payload along with it and just being a part of something way bigger than yourself. >> pelley: i wonder what it's like in the job market right now. what are you hearing? >> there's a lot of competition for the jobs. the jobs aren't paying nearly as well as we've been accustomed to. i think that's the reality that fewer jobs,less money. so it's scary out there right now. >> pelley: look around brevard county, florida, near kennedy space center and you can see just how devastating the end of the shuttle program is to the

community. this bar called shuttles has been a fixture for astronauts and space workers for 30 years. now bill grillo, the owner, is worried. his business is off 50%, he had 25 employees, now he's down to eight. >> it's kind of getting punched in the stomach and then getting kicked after you're laying on the ground. it's a double whammy for us. the country's hurting with the recession. we're hurting twice as much because we've got so many local layoffs. >> reporter: brian jones' grandfather worked to build the shuttle launch pads. his father helped construct the shuttle assembly building. there's not an elevator operator in the world who has a scrapbook like this. but this third-generation space worker and his wife missy may have to leave florida. she lost her job as an office manager a few months ago. >> we're just hoping we pick the right direction. i mean, we have to go in a

direction. we hope it's the right direction and we pray for the best. >> pelley: i wonder what the two of you will think as you see the last one arch up into the sky? >> satisfaction that we flew the last shuttle out successfully. sadness that it's the last shuttle. nervous what's happening next. but overall i think joy and... that we did a job well done and pride in the work that we did. >> pelley: brian and his team will be there on launch day getting the astronauts off the ground. and we'll be reporting to you from the cape tomorrow night. that's the "cbs evening news." for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs

captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org this is 9news now. we begin with breaking news tonight out of prince george's county where the outer loop just reopened on the beltway after being closed for almost an hour. monika samtani, what a mess. >> it was. it happened an hour ago. i was just on the phone with maryland state police. let's take a look. we are looking at the outer loop of the beltway right after college park but before new hampshire. a vehicle stopped with a flat tire. a friend arrived to help. everybody got out of the cars to try to fix the flat tire. in the meantime maryland state police cannot explain why this happened but a